Third Time's the Charm
by Dear. Dark. Destiny
Summary: Seeing her now, broken, limbs bent in awkward and unnatural positions gripped my lungs and it seemed as if they had deflated inside my chest. Or maybe it was my heart that had deflated...If only I could go back in time. L/S Rated T until possible change
1. The One that Haunts the Most

**A/N**

**Hello good people of ! I am so excited to present to you this story. My friend Vanessa and I decided one day in Math that we would start a story, so we've been going section by section and writing this.**

**It will be a mutli-chaptered fiction and I do hope you enjoy it!**

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter aint mine unfortunately.**

**And on you go! Read READ REAAAAD! And whilst you finish, do review. **

Eleven nights it's been. Eleven nights since I saw her sweet, angelic smile and curly red locks moving as she did. Eleven nights of nightmares and heartache. But eleven nights, hoping that maybe I would get to see her soon, could not longer happen. Not now, not ever, for these eleven nights I had awaited for just a glimpse of my forever love had become pointless and without hope. Now all was dark, wretched, devoid of any form of happiness. It was a miracle I could even function properly. Depression weighted me down, a choking cloak of never ending suffering.

It was my fault, and now the crushing realization of my rash actions has gripped me by the noose I've imagined would take me from my pit of melancholy self-loathing. I could have stopped it. _I could have!_ The self-loathing had started so long ago, but now that I would never see my Lily ever again, it felt like I would die from this bone-crushing agony.

Seeing her now, broken, limbs bent in awkward and unnatural positions gripped my lungs and it seemed as if they had deflated inside my chest. Or maybe it was my heart that had deflated. Either way, I could not breathe. I fell to my knees before her, and though I wished I could have wept for my love, the tears would not come.

'_Get away from her!_' someone growled. Looking away from my love's mangled body, I found myself face to face with the werewolf Lupin. He looked like an animal, on all fours, growling deep in his chest as he protected her and her husband's bodies. But I could barely hear him. It was as if I were under water, drowning myself and everything else away.

Gently reaching under the animal's warm body, I pulled her, limp and lifeless, up to a sitting position and immediately felt the distinct difference between Lupin's warmth and her freezing temperature. I held her in my lap and pulled her to my self, laying her head on my heaving chest and finally wept for her, hugging her close. Her cheeks were coloured with the rouge she had put on before her tragic end. If not for her ice cold skin, I might have believed she was sleeping.

I closed my eyes. I should have told her how I felt years ago. If I had, maybe it would have been _me_ dead by her side, but now that it can never be me, I would still lay my life down for her and the child.

Lupin released and angry howl, disturbing and heart-wrenching, in his human tones. As I wept over Lily, he howled over Potter's lifeless, frozen body.

Potter. Why him? Many times we talked of Potter and now much we despised every cell in his body. Why did she choose him after all she had said? I know all the mistakes in my life would never have been good enough for her, but she deserved far more than _James Potter_ ever could have given her. And if it _was_ me, then I would not have to sit here, blubbering over her remains.

Remus Lupin finally stopped his horrid howling, sitting back on his heels with a broken look upon his tear-stained face. He glanced over at me, chocolate eyes confused.

'What are you even doing here?' he growled acidly. 'Shouldn't you be with your _lord_?' I glared at him, wiping my tears quickly.

'You best not insult me, _dog_. The Dark Lord is gone. My allegiance lies with the Order.'

I stood, gently placing Lily's body by her wretched _husband's_. I left Godric's Hollow with a single thought singing through my brain.

If only I could go back in time. If only I could make things different so that she wouldn't be cold and dead, and I wouldn't feel so completely dead and broken inside. My mind raced with the options and the things we could have accomplished if she hadn't died—if _I _hadn't died. But there was nothing. My mind was a void of empty thoughts and hopes and dreams. _I _was nothing anymore. Lily's last words to me haunted my heart as I dragged my legs along.

'_You can't keep living like this Severus. One day you're going to wake up and I'm going to be gone, and so is everything else you love…'_

_Why did she always have to be right? _I thought acidly before apparating to Hogsmeade. The town looked dreary and soggy, as if it could feel my pain and as if it was absorbing it. I felt no better as I made the trek up to the castle. As I entered through the gigantic doors, and warmth flooded over me, I couldn't help but feel at home.

Walking to my quarters, I contemplated what I would do next. Nothing seemed to have a purpose anymore. Even my new occupation as Potions Master at a place I thought I would never come back to seemed to hold nothing for me.

I was utterly alone.

My old colleagues and peers now working at the school I had once adored whispered accusingly as I walked past.

'What is _Severus_ doing here?' 'Is he not working for _You-Know-Who?_' 'Who let him in here in the first place?'

They tried to be discrete, but every word dug like a thousand tiny daggers.

What _was _I doing here? It's _my fault_ the Potter's are dead and I have no right peeking my head around anything good or right.

I quickly made the turn into the dungeons where my quarters resided. The image of an annoyed, apprehensive snake tamer glared at me as I whispered to him the password ('Serpens Argentea'). Once the door was properly shut, wards placed and charms cast, I stopped. A manic grumble of a laugh shuddered through me as I all but ran to my private potions room.

Why hadn't I thought of it before? I mentally berated myself as I searched for the small box that held the answer to all of my struggles.

It would change _everything_ and possibly even ruin my future, but what was to be, was to be.

My hands shook as I found the old shoebox that held every treasure we once shared, from the tiger lily I had pressed for her, to the little silver whistle she had given me our first Christmas at Hogwarts, saying that since I was the one who had first discovered she was a witch, that I should have something to remember that by.

_There._ There it sat, gleaming its gold shimmer as if it _hadn't_ been exactly three years since I had used it last. The tiny trinket called out my name, and I caressed it, embracing the new life I would have to endure if all things went according to plan.

Heart racing, I turned the dial back eleven times.

**Phew! That was chapter one folks! Yes, took us less than a day to write, but it felt like just a whole week of fun! 3 thank you everyone for reading.**

**Get story alert if you want to know when the next chapters coming! And REVIEW! Thanks!**

**Happy writings**

**Caroline (and Vanessa!)**


	2. 11 turns of the dial gets you nowhere

**A/N**

**Aghhh! Chapter two out one week after the first chapter came out! So exciting you guys! :D Okay, so I hope you enjoyed the last one, and I hope you'll enjoy this one. Remember, it is both Vanessa and me that are creating this story, not just me.**

**READ AND REVIEW PLEASE!**

**Disclaimer: We don't own HP**

**Enjooooy!**

Time surged past me, like a hurricane's wind, my cloak blowing madly around my body. I could just barely make out my own figure going about my daily activities as I flew backwards in time. It wasn't uncomfortable; I felt as if in a cocoon, protected from most of the torrential winds. I shut my eyes and waited to reach that day that felt so long ago.

"_I'm going to kill them _tonight_, Severus."_

"_I beg you, leave her. Leave her! Leave her…"_

My past zoomed and swirled around me for what seemed like hours until finally, I landed in the shadows on my feet, facing the back of my harsher, crueler past self.

"What are you doing with your life, Severus? You think this is good? You think this will get you _anywhere_? What _happened_ to you Sev?" said the fiercely lovely red head, her hair flowing down her back in those same ringlets that now seemed to gag me in an endless pit of self-loathing and heartache.

"You think this will get me no where? You'll see. I swear it to you, like everything else I swore to you that you didn't believe." The man with the cruel wrinkle in between his eyebrows bit back.

"And did you follow through with any of them?" retorted she, her eyes flashing in hurt and anger for her long time best friend and almost love. She didn't even wait for a reply before adding, "no. They didn't. You can't keep living like this Severus. One day you're going to wake up and I'm going to be gone, and so is everything else you love."

The words stung still. My other self gave Lily a glare that sent chills through both of us. How I could look so inhuman was a mystery to me.

Without another word, my past self stormed off, cloak flying angrily behind him. Lily's emerald eyes shut, a tear managing to make a trail upon her pale, beautiful cheek. She slowly sagged to the ground, a whimper in her throat.

That was more than I could handle. I had no control over my body as I threw myself from the shadows and wrapped my arms around her small body. She squeaked in surprise, and flailed against me.

"Please... Please... I'm sorry. I didn't mean it," I whispered into her silky locks of hair. "Please... I cannot bear to lose you." Her motion stopped, relaxing in my arms. Her breathing stuttered with the small sobs permeating from her chest.

We sat like this for what felt like hours. Lily finally looked up at me, eyes puffy-looking and tender, hurt and confused. She was still so beautiful. Always.

"Severus, why..." she murmured into my cloak, gripping on tighter. "Why do you hurt me so?"

"Because…" I started out, the words getting caught in my throat, digging their feet into the soft tissues of my lungs so that they would not completely deflower my pride.

She looked up, bug eyed, following my every sound and silence, nodding her head for me to go on.

"Because you're so damn perfect! And I can't ever deserve you or be with you because I can _never _be as perfect as I want to be around you. I will never be able to hold your hand and tell you how beautiful you are and I will never be able to kiss those lips again or even touch your nose as it scrunches when you're embarrassed!" I shot out, my control completely diminishing before my eyes.

Lily gaped at me. Her mouth opened, and then shut softly.

"What?" she whispered. I sighed.

"I guess I'll just say it clearly," I muttered, a slice of pain that would soon become a migraine formed between my eyes.

"Lily, I love you. I've loved you for as long as I've known you."

She stared at me for a long time, eyes agape and slightly confused until I started to feel uncomfortable and embarrassed at myself.

"S-Severus…I can't do this right now. I can't! I have a-a h-husband an-and a son. No…this-this can't work." Said the love of my life, turning her head, still astonished and shocked and completely alarmed, and staggered away as briskly as she could muster.

My hand involuntarily reached for her as tiny droplets of water began to moisten my eyes.

"Lily wait! You can't go without knowing this!" I yelled at her fast-moving form. My hope grew smaller and smaller as her form receded into the distance. Suddenly she turned and began walking back slowly, caution and alarm obvious in her form.

"Know what, Severus?" she asked exasperatedly, stopping in place. Relieved that she actually listened, I rushed to her side.

"The Dark Lord is planning a raid on your house," I whispered. "He wants to kill Harry. And he's eager to kill you and Potter too."

She scrunched her eyebrows together angrily, and her mouth twisted down in an almost scary and unattractive face, a sneer. Her hands balled into fists so that her nails dug into her palms and her hair seemed to ignite in orange flames licking her neck in a frazzled manor.

"Lies, Severus. _He_ wouldn't give us away like that…like _you_." Lily whispered, eyes were burning emeralds as she glared at me in an accusatory way.

Feeling my heart sink and drown in the epitome of my sorrows, I watched in longing as she turned and nearly sprinted away. Her mind was set. She would not believe me. In a way, I suppose I never expected her to believe me, it was me after all who betrayed her so many times in our years at Hogwarts. But I had secretly hoped that she would.

Time changes nothing, no open wounds, no scars, no headaches nor heartbreaks. Time changes only on the clock, and going back only makes Father Time repeat himself which he so terribly hates to do. My only hope now was to stop the Dark Lord before he has his chances of hurting her.

But those chances that I am banking on so heavily are slimmer than my wand or even the greasy hairs on my head, but if I am to die in this at least it would be because of her. She is the reason I would risk everything. _She_ is my reason for existence.

And I blew it.

**Voila, non? J'aime tres beaucoup le chapitre! (Here it is, no? I enjoy this chapter very much). **

**Pardon the French XD**

**Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it as much as we did writing it. REVIEW PLEASE! Thanks, love you all**

**Happy writings**

**Caroline (And Vanessa!)**


	3. When belief is pushed to the edge

**A/N**

**Wow! We finished this one a whole lot sooner than I had thought! So exciting! You're gonna love what the next chapter holds I think. So enjoy this one!**

**Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own it.**

**Remember to read AND REVIEW please**

**Hope you like it…**

She_ is the reason for my existence. _

_And I blew it…_

My mind was an endless black parade of misery. Every flower seemed to turn gray and wither as I saw it. My heart was thumping in disarray, confused at whether to speed up and kick into high gear, or slow down and wait till the end. If I am to be truthful, my mind was following the same uneven patterns and I did not know whether I should do things over and actually talk to the Dark Lord or just let myself die here by the withering flowers in the new mud created by the steady flow of rain that was now beating heavily on my head. The sky was no longer a soft shade of fading blue hues that the sky took on before it was to say goodnight, but instead it was gray, just as the flowers were.

Tonight there was to be no thunder to be heard, only silent lightning, striking on innocent bystanders who could not hear the deadly cracks as it approached much like a snake, rearing in for the kill.

Looking out on the darkened gloom of nature, I pondered upon what to do next. The urge to just give up was a nagging weight on my body, but to lose all hope would be to let myself die of sorrow. Lightning split the sky, and for a brief second it felt like the world was ablaze in white fire. It was lonely without its love Thunder to accompany it, and angrily Lightning struck the earth again. A tree off in the distance burst into flame, the bright color of it making me flinch. The sheer color of the jovial conflagration made me want to try once again. Maybe she would believe me this time.

Balling my fists, I made my decision and walked determinedly towards the dark forest to my left, a towering jungle of overgrowth, to apparate.

My ears buzzed with the crackling of the burning tree and my stomach burned as if I had just had some Firewhiskey. If I was going to talk to Lord Voldemort, I would need to work it fast. His attack would be nine days from now, though he's been planning for months.

There was a sour and bitter taste in my mouth that I knew could not be removed unless I was to be successful.

I shut my eyes and willed my magic to encase me, and pull me to the location I knew the Dark Lord was residing. Within seconds I was hurrying up the walk. At the door I pressed my mark against its dark wood, and with a hiss, it opened before me. Up the stairs of the massive house I ran, straight to Voldemort's personal quarters.

Turning the corner, I almost tripped over the massive snake Nagini, who hissed angrily at me and bared her knife like fangs before slithering away. Steeling my resolve, I approached the Dark Lord's door. It opened before I had a chance to say a word.

"Sssssseverussss..." he whispered as I kneeled before him, "It is a pleasure to ssssee you, my most trusted." I kissed the hem of his robe, pushing disgust into the very crevices of my determined mind.

"My Lord," I responded, looking up at his monstrous face. "I came to thank you." For a brief moment, I recognized a miniscule flicker of human curiosity in his pale featured. It disappeared as quickly as it came. I felt a probing presence in my mind. He searched until he found my rage at Potter. His face broke into a malicious grin that chilled me to the bone.

He could see what I wanted him to see. The fool actually thought he might be able to break into my mind!

His smile was sickeningly sweet.

"Sso Ssseveruss, you do agree with my plans of raid?" he hissed, cocking his head to the side, stroking Nagini.

I gave him one curt nod and unhooked my crossed arms from behind my back.

"For the most part I do, my Dark Lord." I replied, my tone completely emotionless.

Voldemort raised his eyebrows, curiously surprised at these words.

"Most part, Severus?" said he, taking the bait.

Just as before, I replied with another curt nod and forced my legs to start a pace as I spoke the words that could either save her, or infuriate him.

"I love Lily Evans," I told him, my face set in a grimace. "Or rather, Potter. That imbecile took the one thing that I've ever wanted." Voldemort didn't look angry as I had expected. He smirked.

"Oh? You want me to let the girl live?" I turned to him. He gave me a calculating look. "And you want me to kill Potter and the boy only?" I nodded. He looked contemplative as he thought. Finally he spoke, "I see that you want revenge on that fool Potter, so I will give it to you. What happens to the woman will rely on what she does as I kill her child."

"Thank you, my Lord," I said, and for once I was truly thankful of him. Voldemort waved his hand, and I was pushed out of the room, the door slamming shut.

With a profound purpose, I ran out of the evil house and apparated mid-stride to where I knew I would find her.

Godrick's Hallow was dark and cold and an eerie mood hung ceaselessly in the air. The graveyard to my right seemed to reek of ghosts, though I could not actually smell a thing.

My feet seemed to involuntarily take me to the house I had only been to once before, one of the most horrifying memories I own.

_Late December's chill froze every amount of my body as I attempted to walk the empty streets of Godrick's Hallow._

_My love, my bitter-sweet angel of regretful remembrance was no longer mine for the taking._

_She never truly was _mine_ for the taking, but the ring on her finger made it even less so, and I was shattered._

I did not like to recall this to my memory for it is one of the worst I have, but what's done is done and cannot easily be reversed, so I trudged on, stopping at her window.

There she was, rocking the baby that so disgusted me in her arms, to and fro with an agitated look in her eyes and brows, beautiful as always none the less. It felt wrong barging in on her personal life like this but I wanted to make sure she was okay.

I strode to the door and, vaguely feeling like a foolish Muggle, knocked soundly. From the inside I could barely hear voices conversing, before the door slid open.

James Potter stood before me, a disgusted look upon his face. The sudden urge to curse him almost made me lose my weaning control.

"What are you doing here, Snivellus? Haven't you done enough damage already?" he growled. I fixed him with my best glare.

"Quit being immature, Potter. I'm here to talk to Lily, not to waste my time with you." As Potter's mouth opened to spew an angry retort, Lily entered the doorway.

"Behave!" she hissed quietly. "You two are grown men! There's no need to act like children!" She shifted the sleeping child in her arms. "Come in, Severus. I trust you have nothing else to hurt me with." She turned, leaving Potter and me in the doorway. Potter reluctantly turned away, letting me into his house. I stepped out of the cold eagerly, shutting the door behind me.

I followed them into a sitting room, where Lily sat next to me on the couch.

"James, would you mind putting Harry in his crib?" Potter nodded and took the sleeping infant out of the room. Lily and I sat staring at each other, and I couldn't help the rush of words that exploded from my mouth.

"He is coming, Lily! I swear it to you! And I don't know when he will come, but I promise he will. You can choose not to believe me and die like the millions of others have, but he is _coming_." The desperation of my whole self made my voice crack like it did the many embarrassing times when I was a mere child.

Her eyes grew wide once more and she bit her lip and looked up to her husband.

"Not this again, Sev. Please. I'm tired, and I've got a child to care for and I just cannot deal with this right now." She sighed, placing her thumb and pointer fingers on her temple.

I sat back on my heels, almost bemused, my heart sinking a thousand stories. She did not believe me still. She thought me to be a malicious liar, sent here to destroy her peace.

How incredulous! How completely idiotic she was being! I was giving her the chance to run away so as her whole family would not perish, but she blew it off as if it were a pesky bug!

"Lily, please! I'm being completely truthful," I pleaded, anger starting to ebb into my words. "I used a damned time-turner to come here! I went back eleven days to tell you this! You must believe me! Eleven days from now you will be dead if you don't listen to me!" I pulled out the glittering gold time turner that was slowly revolving on its chain, a sign that it was working. Lily's eyes showed shock and disbelief. I glared at the floor, searching my brain for any way of making her understand.

With a sigh, I opened my mind to her. I sent her my memories of seeing her body, of Lupin howling over Potter, of the house we were in mangled disarray. I showed her my deepest fears of her leaving me forever, my desperation to make her understand. I showed her Lord Voldemort's decision of her fate.

Lily's mind pulled away from the horrors of mine. She started to quiver in her seat, looking smaller than ever before. She stared at me, her eyes full of absolute terror. I leveled her with a look of my own. She finally understood. I inched closer, taking her frail body into my arms. Lily was too shocked to cry. I pressed a soft kiss upon her hair.

"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing, Snivellus?" Potter's voice broke through my reverie, pulling me back into reality. "What did you do to her?"

"I showed her. Everything." I replied simply.

Enraged, Potter balled his hands into fists, taking one and pointing his finger to the door.

"Get the _hell_ out of my house. Now!" he practically screamed, waking the child sleeping soundly in his crib upstairs and making the neighbor's dogs bark.

The whole house was in disarray, and in the midst of it, Lily pushed as hard as she could muster with her withering strength at my chest, telling me I should leave.

"Did you not hear me? I said _GET THE HELL OUT OF MY—_"

"I heard what you said, _Potter_, and I'm leaving." I retorted, cutting him off.

A twelve thousand kilogram weight was stuck in my throat and seemed to be pulling my esophagus all the way down to my stomach. I could not show them how purely mangled and broken I felt for I was much to dignified, but my breaking point had a limit. So I left, leaving Potter to his own fate, and unwillingly leaving her to hers.

**Ah, another perfect ending if I do say so myself. **** Thanks everyone for reading!**

**REVIEW PLEASE! We feed off your reviews like hungry animals! So please keep sending them in. Also, if you have predictions, ideas, criticisms, etc we would love to hear them. Thanks guys!**

**Happy writings**

**Caroline (and Vanessa!)**


	4. May the best man win

The concern I had for Lily's life slowly began consuming my mind. Not long after I was forcefully ousted from the Potter's house, Lily was the only thing I could thing about. What could I do to protect her? I had already shown her everything; I had even gone back in time for her. It seems as if no matter what I did, she would still be in danger, her life on the line as she tried ceaselessly to protect the little brat that was her son.

The only possible way of saving her that I could think of was to get rid of Voldemort, but chances of killing the Dark King were almost unthinkable. His existence has become an almost accepted thought because of his inability to truly die.

And even if I were able to kill him, she had made her choice.

Lily chose to believe me, but do nothing about it. No, instead she decided to stick by her filthy husband's side and die, leaving the boy in the arms of the rest of the Wizarding World if he was to survive like the last time.

I kicked a nearby stump in frustration. Why couldn't she just be a grown up for once and do the right thing? Why couldn't she just run away like any sane person would?

Then a thought hit me. I had seen their house, as if it hadn't been protected beneath the Fidelus charm.

Voldemort had already found a way to see through it. He could see them just as plainly as I could.

The horror of the thought struck me hard. When I thought Lily had even just a sliver of protection against her fate, it had to be ripped away. Of course.

There were no charms that _I_ could put up to save her for the Dark Lord would know! My dark mark disallowed for any sort of protection…at least for now.

The cogs of thought in my mind began to spin rapidly as I contemplated my options.

_Risk eternal damnation by actually trying to stop Voldemort by force (the chances of my survival not being in my favor), or_

_Physically remove Lily from her home and take her far away._

Option number two did not seem like it would place her forever in my gratitude and option number one seemed like a suicide mission, but to die for her would be so much greater than stumbling around foolishly like a coward, so option one was what it had to be.

To comfort me, I once more pulled out the golden trinket that had gotten me here. It twirled on its shimmering chain as I began to gently swing it in a back and forth motion. How simple it would be to be this small thing. A time turner has no worries, it does not feel, it simply functions for the holder.

I stared at its soft swing, its calming movement soothing me slightly. Then a thought hit me.

If I got Potter on my side, then maybe Lily could be safe. No matter how much I hated the idea of actually conversing with the git, if it saved Lily, it saved my sanity.

I pondered how to do this. He obviously wouldn't talk to me directly; our memories of school prevented us from even standing within a ten-meter radius of each other without the urge to prod, insult, beat, throttle, or possibly curse the other.

The memory of Lily's body, cold and lifeless next to her equally cold and lifeless husband, sprang forth in my mind. I recalled the mournful howl the werewolf released as he mourned his dead friend, how I held my cadaverous love in my arms and cried more tears than I had ever in my entire life.

There was something I was missing. There was a simpler solution. There had to be. Just what that solution was a complete mystery in itself.

Then it hit me.

Lupin.

If I could convince Lupin, who was far more reasonable than the insufferable twit Potter, of my tale, and he went to Potter, Lily could be safe.

Where would Lupin be at a time like this?

Black Manor…of course.

I turned on the spot, clutching the time turner, not bothering to place it back into my pocket.

When I opened my eyes, I stood tall in front of Black Manor and wondered how Bellatrix Lestrange could have ever been raised in such a lovely home. Her heart was black as coal, yet this home seemed more like a massive cottage.

Flowers lined the gate leading into the house as well as in front of the house and lining the walk way. The path was made out of smooth stones enhanced by magic to fit perfectly together and the walls of the house were made of much of the same. It was a Tudor styled home with wooden shutters painted in forest green. Vines ran up the sides of the five story house and mosses sprouted over the stones.

No wonder Lupin loved this place so much. There could not be an unpleasant thought for miles around.

It was one of the many houses that were unseen by Muggles. Unplottable, apparently; I could see it as clearly as any other house. I all but sprinted up the steps. A cord unraveled from the ceiling in front of the door, and I tugged at the end. It, sensing who I was, let out a loud, merry toll of what must have been a very large bell.

"Who's there-?"

"Severus Snape." The door opened, revealing a frowning Sirius Black. My head hurt. Another angry Marauder? I didn't think I could take anymore.

"What are you doing here, Snape?" He didn't sound half as angry as that idiot Potter. I sighed.

"I need your help, and Lupin's. This is a matter of life and death. Of Lily and... James." The name felt like poison on my tongue. I grimaced.

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" Black asked. I pulled out the time turner, which was still spinning slowly on its axis. He stared at it.

"If you don't help me, your friend will die. He's dead in my time." Sirius Black stared in shock and terror straight into my eyes. He pushed the door open wider and let me enter the sprawling manor.

**Hey home dogs! I hope you enjoyed it! **

**REVIEW please and tell us what you thought. We had trouble on this chapter, so it would be wonderful if you could tell us what you are thinking or any predictions you have.**

**Thanks all, this is so much fun. **

**Happy writings**

**Caroline (and Vanessa!)**


	5. Once More, Fate Has Become My Foe

**A/N**

**Okay, so it's been too long since my last update on this story, and I am sorry for that faithful fans. Summer just arrived and last week was completely hectic, but I promise we shall get chapter six out MUCH FASTER!**

_**READ**_** AND **_**REVIEW**_**!**

**Disclaimer: As much as I would love to say that I do, I do not in fact own harry potter or the characters in it.**

**Hugs and Kisses and hope you enjoy it!**

Black's eyes were reluctant as I motioned to the comfortable-looking arm chair that sat in the corner of his parlor to see if I could sit, but he nodded his head anyway.

The inside of his house was just as friendly as the outer, except for the fact that the inside was lit by a fire and filled with the cozy crackle of burning wood.

Lupin was sleeping on the love seat, curled up in the smallest ball he could muster. At the sound of our footsteps, Lupin sprung out of his seat, warning in his eyes. He relaxed slightly when he saw it was just Black and me.

"Oh. Severus. How do you do?" He asked, a sickly smile upon his pasty, ill-looking face. It was close to full moon; he was already feeling the symptoms. He sat down again upon the love seat.

"No need for the pleasantries, Remus," I whispered. Black wouldn't stop boring holes into my head.

"What's going on?" Lupin looked concerned, his hazel eyes shifting slightly out of focus, turning a soft red around the edges of his irises. Another symptom.

"Lily and James are in trouble," Black told him before I could even begin to ponder about how I would break the news to them.

"Trouble? What kind of trouble?" Panic arose in the poor werewolf. It was still ten days until full moon, yet he was already showing signs that his transformation was near. Pity surged through me. I held out the Time turner.

"I came back eleven days to fix this," I muttered angrily. "And I couldn't. So now I must rely on you." _No matter how much I hated it_. "Lily and Potte- _James_- are in danger. Lord Voldemort is preparing a raid on their house." The Maurauders gasped with terror. I couldn't help the hate-filled sneer that slid across my face as I thought about the Dark Lord. "He wants their child, Harry. He'll kill both Lily and _James_ but miraculously that little boy lives."

"I- Is this true, Severus?" Lupin all but whimpered. I glared icily at him.

"You think I'd _lie_ about this?" I growled.

"Well you _were_ in cohorts with You-Know-Who…" Black shot back indignantly, almost uneasy about my presence next to Lupin. I turned to him, eyes wild with incredulity.

"I love Lily, damn it! I _love_ her! I don't want her dead. I never wanted her dead!" As I spoke, I was suddenly gripped with urgent need to wring Black's neck, and cold fury bubbled in the depths of my throat. The two imbeciles that were supposed to be helping me just stared in wonderment and shock.

"_Loved_ Lily? _You_?" Lupin whispered. His disbelief both astounded and offended me. Were they both really this dim? Especially _Lupin_ who was the smartest of the four Marauders.

"_Yes_!" I yelled. "But that's not the point! Lily won't take my warning seriously, and if she doesn't, it's going to mean the end of her and her little family!" Black and Lupin flinched.

"And how are we supposed to help?" Lupin asked, a slightly desperate tone creeping into his raspy voice.

"Get _James _to believe it. If _he_ does, then she'll believe it. It will be easier for that fool to believe his friends than me; poor little _Snivellus_ doesn't know anything," I responded with a growl. "_Even though I know more than that imbecile would ever dream of knowing,"_ I added under my breath.

Black opened his mouth to speak, but before he could utter a word, a searing pain erupted on the evil mark that covered my forearm. I hissed in agony, tearing away the sleeve to see the tattooed snake slithering across my skin. The edges were blistering and beginning to swell; the Dark Lord was furious.

My mind raced with the endless possibilities of what would evoke such anger. Potter could have taken my advice and left while they had the chance, or Nagini could have died, or one of his horcruxes destroyed, or even worse…my plot discovered.

I squirmed uneasily as the mark on my wrist seemed to sizzle off in a bubbling agony. Each cell boiled ceaselessly and I felt my face becoming hot as if it were me in the rage.

"He's—he's v—very angry!" I managed to gasp between my frequent breaths, but no matter how many times I allowed my lungs to open up, I could not capture the amount of air I needed.

The wolf and the dog fixated their eyes on my scene, flabbergasted, eyes wider than galleons. Neither reaching to help or even avert their eyes.

Finally, Lupin came to.

"About what?"

I turned to him, furious, only to see his blurry outline.

"I don't know! For gods sake, would someone help me?" I finally shrieked. Both men were suddenly closing in on me.

Lupin gently gripped my arm. I almost howled out with pain. He pulled his wand out of a pocket and whispered, "_Episkey_." The blisters seemed to fade slightly, but then returned with a vengeance, bursting and releasing crimson blood.

The pain intensified tremendously. I bit my tongue to keep from screaming.

"_Finite Incantatem_!" Black yelled, aiming his wand at my bleeding forearm. My vision was filled with black splotches as the pain grew. The tattooed snake hissed and moved faster, each pore filling with blood.

"STOP!" I cried out, just as Lupin had opened his mouth to cast another spell. "The only way for it to stop is if I go face Him!"

"You can't just go!" Black yelped. "You haven't told us how to help James and Lily!"

"It's either I go or I die from this unbearable pain!" I growled manically, reaching my fingers towards the snake, which would send me straight to the Dark Lord. Lupin caught my hand. I glared at him. I felt blood leak from my mouth.

"We'll try to help you! I promise!" he cried. "I won't let Him hurt them!" He let go, sending my hand down upon the writhing snake.

My vision faded completely as I felt the sharp pull of Apparition take me to the Dark Lord. I gripped the Time Turner. _Please, give me hope..._

At last I fell to the floor in a frigid room at the Dark Lord's feet. All the pain from the pustules had diminished, but the knee that I had fallen on sent a new burst of pain spiraling through my body.

"Severussssss…" He hissed, not bothering to mask the anger in his tone. "So nice of you to _join_ usssssss." And for the first time since I had landed there, I looked up to see every other death eater from Malfoy to Knott there in a perfect semicircle with me as the centerpiece.

"M-my Lord…" I managed to stutter out the words that he was searching for, acknowledging the fact that I understood his presence.

"Won't you…sssstand up?" he made a sort of popping sound on the 'p' of 'up' that sent a shiver down my spine, and it had nothing to do with the cold.

"Of course, My Lord..." The burning pain in my knee almost made me fall back to the floor, but I managed to keep upright. I tried to hide my weakness behind my normally cool facade.

"Ssssomeone is betraying me..." Voldemort whispered. The Death Eaters surrounding me shuffled around with anticipation. Voldemort's eyes, which were just barely more than inhuman slits, narrowed further. "Who issss it?"

I felt a dozen pairs of eyes land on me. I kept still, my mind blank, my inner walls raised. Lord Voldemort kept his frightful eyes fixed upon me, and I felt the cold fingers of his mind try to pry into mine. I kept my walls strong, if not stronger, than ever before.

"Sssseverusss, do _you_ know who this traitor issss...?"

"I don't know, My Lord..." I responded, knowing full well what would happen next.

"_Crucio_!"

The curse sent me sprawling. My eyes rolled back into my head, my body quivering with pain. I curled in on myself, tears leaking from my eyes, blood trickling from my lips.

"_Who is it, Sssseverusss_?" Voldemort hissed, his words slowly reverting into Parseltongue as his anger increased. I released a scream as the Cruciatus intensified.

"_I don't know, My Lord_!" I cried, back arching off the cold ground. Some Death Eater snickered in the background.

I had never felt more relieved when Voldemort released me from the curse. I panted, the air feeling far too thin to satisfy my burning lungs.

"I know who it iss, dear _Severusssss_..." The Dark Lord stood, circling me slowly, robes whistling softly in my ear. I couldn't bring myself to respond. My throat was bloody and skinned from my screams of pain, my lungs devoid of oxygen. "And he's lying here before me... _TRAITOR!_"

My hand flew to the pocket where the Time turner safely hid as Voldemort drew his wand.

"_AVADA_-" I turned the dial three times, as fast as I could. "-_KEDAVRA_!" The room ignited with a bright green light before blackness took over my vision.

**Yo, yo, yo! Soooo? What did you guys think? Yay? Nay? Okay? **

**Please review to tell me!**

**Happy writings**

**Caroline (And Vanessa!)**


	6. Now This is Truly Deja Vu

**A/N**

**Hello again! And as planned, this one is not as late as the last! :D Happy day! **

**Thanks to all for reading or even coming on here and I hope you READ AND REVIEW!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own HP or da characters, unfortunately. :/**

**Hope you enjoy!**

It felt like I was falling for hours on end; just falling into nothingness, unsure of when I would hit the ground or if I would _even_ hit the ground, but at some point or another I did.

The last words I heard spun through my head on an endless loop like some of the records mother would play when dad wasn't home.

"_And he's laying here before me…TRAITOR! AVADA KEDAVRA!"_

And the colors were so vivid, like every shade up to this point had been dull and grey, but when I was suddenly faced with a doomed future, my senses cleared up and everything was sharper. I remembered the bright green that flashed before my eyes right before I fell, how it grazed my nose ever so slightly and left an irritated red mark.

But now everything was gone. I was back to the beginning, day one, watching as the former me quarrels with lovely Lily. Voldemort was no longer angry, and Lupin and Black still loathe me for everything it's worth.

_What was I to do? _

I watched as my former self stalk off, leaving Lily crying in his midst. I almost ran to her side, but I realized that in doing that, I'd just be repeating my actions again.

I watched as Lily eventually dried her tear-stained cheeks, and shakily got onto her feet. She slowly stumbled in the direction of her house. If only I could get her to believe me...

Then I understood. With a snap, I apparated back to Black Manor.

This was not in my hands alone anymore. I would have to rely fully on the rest of the Marauders.

Once more, I was standing tall in front of the humbly huge cottage type mansion.

I willed my feet to move forward, but as I got closer, my stomach began to clench in a pit of utter fear. Every impact of foot hitting ground seemed like a thousand tiny daggers pressing at my skin.

I reached the door all too quickly. A cord swung down from the ceiling, as it had before. With trembling hands, I pulled it. The chime that seemed so cheerful just hours ago suddenly sounded like a death toll.

"Who's there?" My head was spinning at how eerily similar the situation was.

"S-Severus Snape."

The door clicked open, revealing Black's frame. He looked partly shocked, partly curious, and just a tad bit annoyed.

"What do you want, Snivellu-" he paused, staring with wide eyes at my quivering, bloody body. "Bloody hell! What happened to you? Come in!" On shaky legs, I entered the Manor once again. The Marauder led me into what must have been the kitchen. He fetched his wand and began performing simple healing charms on me.

I stopped him.

"Those aren't important right now," I muttered, running a hand through my tangled, slightly greasy hair. "I need to talk to you and Lupin. It's important."

"How important?"

"It could mean the death of two of your closest friends." I was shocked at how different Black was acting towards me. Being covered in cuts and oozing blood sure does draw out the sympathy in people. Black's eyebrows furrowed, but he led me to where Lupin was sleeping.

Lupin lay on the couch, curled into the tiniest ball his weedy frame could contort itself into. Like before, he jumped up at the sound of our approaching footsteps. But this time, instead of easing back into the couch when he saw it was me, his brows wrinkled together in an equal mix of confusion and curiosity.

"What happened to him?" he directed his question to Black as if I was not sitting there before him, absolutely conscious.

Black shrugged his shoulders and shook his head awkwardly then held his hand out towards me, palm up, as if to tell Lupin to ask me.

"That's not important! _I'm_ not important! Just listen, damn it!" I got to my feet as quickly as I could, though my head was woozy and my eyes began to see little specks of black. My knee still throbbed from where it had hit the ground days in the future, like the pulse behind a bruise, beating in a heavy, thrumming rhythm of pain.

"Lily! It's Lily an-and James!" I nearly shouted, but I could tell I finally had their attention locked on me.

"What? What do you mean?" Sirius asked, confused. Like I had done previously, I pulled out the Time Turner. They stared at it in awe, watching as both the metal rings turned furiously against each other.

"Wait. How far from the future are you from-?" Lupin was twitching, his eyes flashing red before returning to their light hazel tone.

"Eleven days," I responded curtly. "In eleven days, both Lily and James will be dead." Both men jumped up, panicked.

"_What?_"

"Voldemort is planning a raid on their house," I explained once more. "Lily and James will die to save their child, who somehow survives the attack."

"What can we do to help?" Lupin questioned desperately. I sat down quickly, before my legs gave out beneath me.

"The first time I used the Time Turner, I went straight to the Potter home," I began. "No matter what I tried, Lily refused to believe me. And of course, Potter, like the snide little brat he is, wouldn't dare listen to _Snivellus_." I paused, mind going blurry for a moment. "I came here, and you two agreed to help me. Before I could tell you what to do, I was called to Voldemort's side, where he decided to kill me." The Marauders gasped.

"But then, h-how are you—?"

"I came back using the Time Turner again," I said, cutting Black off mid sentence. "But I have a plan this time. Let's just hope it works. I doubt Death would let me slip from his claws again."

"But…is it not dangerous to go back in time so much? Can it not destroy the future?" Lupin questioned me logically, like any sane man would do, but I was past sanity. Sanity would be the end of me—the end of all of us.

"And let thousands of innocent people _die_, Lupin? And allow someone that I love to perish and to leave one that she loves without her? I think not. I will risk the destruction of the future. _Don't let them die_." I bit back, nearly bearing my teeth at him as if I were some sort of animal. No, I must not behave this way. I need to gain their trust, not push them away.

With every amount of strength I could muster, I recomposed myself and waited for a reply. I got none; instead Lupin nodded his head for me to go on.

"A plan, Severus?" Lupin waited for a response patiently, in such a way that unnerved me.

"A plan…_a plan_…" my words trailed off as I, once more, contemplated my options.

**Hey home dogs! Like it? Constructive criticism, anyone? Please review and tell us! **

**Thanks for reading**

**Happy writings**

**Caroline (and Vanessa!)**


	7. What is With These Silly Past People!

**A/N **

**Didn't I tell you guys this one would be in ASAP? YUP! We got it in only a week after the last one! :D Chapter 8 should be up around next week as well! **

**Disclaimer: Nope, we don't own it!**

**READ AND REVIEW!**

**Okey dokey, so enjoooy!**

Thinking clearly felt impossible, an unobtainable feat. My mind was blurry with pain and exhaustion, blood loss and time traveling. Glancing at the filmy figures of Lupin and Black, I tried to find a solution somewhere in my muddled mind.

"D'you need some Pepper-up Potion, Severus?" Lupin asked, his voice concerned. I nodded numbly. With a quick "Accio" the potion was in Lupin's hand, and moments later in mine. I gulped the potion down, grimacing as it seared my aching throat. After the light pain dissipated, the world cleared considerably. Finally, I could think.

With a great struggle, I cleared my throat of whatever was building up, and began my sentence again.

"A plan. You two have got to speak with them in a way that they are bound to believe, and do or don't, we will schedule an attack on He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, eleven days from now. It will be on the night that he is planning a raid on the Potter house. We'll have to disable him somehow. Let _them _escape and find a new place to hide away." Both marauders looked at me in a way that told me they thought I was absolutely insane. Lupin had his mouth open and one eyebrow raised, one lowered and Black had his lips pursed and a wrinkle in his brows.

"Schedule an _attack_ on the _Dark Lord_? Are you bloody nuts?" Black half shouted after he snapped out of his daze.

"I probably am," I admitted. "But that's all I've got. We have to save them."

"How do we go about telling James and Lily this?" Lupin asked uneasily. "The only way we could have gotten that information is from you. And if James and Lily are as against it as you say they are, there's no way they're going to believe us."

"You have a better chance of getting through to them than I do, Lupin," I replied. "They're your friends. They trust you. They'll believe you."

"What are _you_ going to do, then?" Black questioned. Even though I'd just drunk the potion, my head was starting to fog up again.

"Going to tell Dumbledore," I ground out. "He'll know what to do." The room was once again blurring. I wondered vaguely if I had somehow sustained a concussion.

"Severus? A-are you okay?" Lupin stared worriedly at me. "You can't do anything in this state. You look exhausted."

"Trust me, I'm fairly close to falling unconscious at the moment, but that's not what's important! Go and tell them! We have no time to lose!" I staggered to my feet. "Go as quick as you can. I'll be at Hogwarts if you need me." And with that, I apparated to Hogsmeade.

I didn't think I could handle speaking with the one man I had wronged so without a drink or two in my system first, so I headed to the Hog's Head Pub for a shot of strong Firewhiskey.

When I downed nearly a liter of alcohol, I felt my jitters had subsided and my mind had become clear, and finally, I knew I had to be ready to confront Dumbledore.

My feet were strangely light as I started a steady tread to my old school. There was a murky calm in my stomach threatening to erupt into an angry bubble, but I swallowed this fear and imagined the life I _could have_ chosen. The life I _could have_ had _with _Lily and a child of my own. I _could have_ ignored the Slytherinish tactics others used to pursued me to join their cause. I _could have_ done everything for _her_, instead of for the one that would be her demise.

"_Severus, darling, won't you please feed the baby?" "Severus, I am overjoyed I decided to spend my entire life with you." "Darling, our child is going for his first year at Hogwarts. Isn't it exciting?" "Severus…"_ In the midst of my daydreams, Lily's voice morphed into one that I knew ever so well as my former Headmaster.

"Severus, what on earth are you doing here?" Dumbledore inquired, his voice dominantly surprised, but cold and pleased too as I found myself standing in his presence. I could not remember getting there, but somehow my feet had carried me to his office. "I wasn't expecting your arrival for another few weeks..."

"That's not it, Dumbledore!" I yelled. "Voldemort... he's going to kill Lily and Potter! I've seen it!" Dumbledore looked shocked, but quickly composed himself.

"You are from the future, then?" Dumbledore asked, glancing at the pocket where I'd hidden the Time Turner.

"Yes," I responded immediately. I sat in a nearby chair before my legs gave out. "I came from eleven days in the future. By then, the Potter's are dead."

"And their son? What is his fate?"

"He... he survives," I replied, still somewhat shocked. "I don't know how. He survives Voldemort's killing curse, and then the same spell rebounds and kills Voldemort..."

"...Are you certain, Severus?" Dumbledore implored, his face eager. "That Voldemort is dead?"

"That's what I heard, at least," I muttered. "Then I found my time turner."

"You did so to save Lily, didn't you?" Damn that old man. He knew everything, it seemed.

"Yes, of course. Yet my first attempt didn't work. I went to the Potter's abode, and quickly got myself kicked out by that git, _Potter_. Voldemort found out that I had betrayed his loyalty and tried to kill me again."

"You…you used the time turner twice?" Dumbledore looked worried. "Severus, that is impossible. Time turners cannot turn back time twice in a span of a few hours."

I shook my head back and forth as hard as I could, ignoring the throbbing pain and splotches of white it brought.

"_Days._ I've been gone from where I belong for _days_." I breathed out feeling the need to sit down.

"_Days_? You mean to tell me that you risked opening a hole in time _twice_? It's dangerous enough to do it once, or even twice in a twenty-four hour time period, but twice in the gap of three days is murder! You could alter the universe, even _cause _it to explode!" by this point, Dumbledore had started pacing back and forth in his office, behind his desk, looking like a trapped monster behind bars.

Once more, I shook my head back and forth.

"I don't care! I don't care about _anything_ but _her_! I-I—" suddenly, I felt myself blacking out once more, "I—I've lost a lot of blood. Please, can I take something, can I—agh!" I could not think clearly anymore. Every thought was like the television we had as a child that never seemed to get good reception.

This sudden change of topic stopped him in his tracks and he turned to me, eyes slightly softening. Dumbledore reached into his robe pocket and pulled out a tiny vial of what seemed to be a crimson, still bubbling potion that reminded me very much so of one I made years ago for Lily when she had splinched slightly on her left arm and she had lost a lot of blood. It was a blood-replenishing potion.

I reached my hand out towards it, unable to move forward and take it from Dumbledore's hand. Now more concerned, Dumbledore came closer, unstoppering the miniscule vial and placing it in my shaking hand. I quickly drank the small amount of liquid.

The feeling of blood rejoining your body was odd, like molten lava pulsing rapidly through your veins. It brought with it energy and clarity that I couldn't seem to find over the past few hours. It was an unusual sight to behold- Dumbledore looking shocked, confused and concerned, eyes questioning and apprehensive.

"Are you feeling better, Severus?" he asked. "Perhaps you should visit the infirmary first—?"

"There's no time for that, Albus," I growled. "We need to gather reinforcements, to cast more spells on the Potter's house, to get them to believe me!"

"I will inform the Order," Dumbledore replied quickly. "Before the day is through, the Potter's house will be impossible to find."

"You are not thinking of _another _Fidelius, Albus, are you? Because I believe Voldemort has found a way around them! He could see their house from the last one you placed up. I could too! I'm telling you, it won't work!" I rushed my words, afraid that I would have to change everything again. Lily would live. She had to whether or not I got her.

"You say you could _see_ their house despite the fact that there was a _Fidelius charm_ on it?" Dumbledore inquired, worried as he rushed to his book shelf to pull out a rather large, leather bound book and flipped through it till he found the page he was looking so hurriedly for.

"Voldemort knows where they live," He muttered under his breath, "because whoever was the secret keeper is against them. Someone has betrayed the Potters."

**Hello thar! How did you like it? Please review and tell me!**

**REVIEWWWWW! We need reviews like we need air to breathe, so we would appreciate your thoughts and such. Thaaanks. **

**Happy writings**

**Caroline (and Vanessa!)**


	8. Pettigrew Deserved What He Got

**A/N**

**Hello good people of FF! :D I am so so so so soooo sorry for this being so terribly late. My computer stopped working about two weeks ago and I had to get a new one, but before that I went on a weeks vacation. I just recently got my new computer so I am now able to upload! :D hurrah! The next one should come in sooner, but I will be leaving for another vacation on Monday so I haven't the slightest idea whether or not I shall be able to get on the internet. BTW, google chrome is awesome. Juuust sayin. Okay, so on with the show.**

**READ AND REVIEW!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own HP**

**Enjoy!**

"_What_?"

"The Potter's Secret Keeper revealed the location of the house," Dumbledore repeated, somewhat angrily. "Whoever it was told Voldemort."

"But... Who is it? Do you know?"

"No." The answer made me begin to panic. My thoughts suddenly became murderous. Whoever had betrayed Lily would have to face my wrath.

"B-but it had to have been a friend, right? A friend of the Potters? They would not have given the secret to anybody else…right?" I began to stumble on my words, trying to get them out as quickly as I could.

"Well, they had asked me to be their Secret Keeper, but I refused, knowing that it would be better if it was _not_ someone who was wanted dead around the world, especially by Voldemort. I do not know who they chose." Albus Dumbledore was hard in thought as he said this and began to scratch ferociously on his left hand—a nervous habit I am sure.

No. _No, no, no._ This could not be happening! Who on bloody earth would _betray_ the Potters? Especially if they were a friend! I wracked my brain of anyone the Potters could be close to.

_Lupin, Black, Pettigrew, Longbottom, Moody…_ I could think of no more, but none of these would betray the Potters!

I immediately ruled out Lupin and Black. If they had betrayed the Potters, they would have no reason to help me as they did to protect them. The Longbottoms were too far gone to do anything since they were tortured. Moody wouldn't help Voldemort even if Voldemort gave him everything he ever wanted in life; he was far too against anything of the Dark to even consider being the culprit.

_Pettigrew_. It had to be him! That mousy little coward would do anything to save himself. None other would make more sense to have betrayed the Potters than him.

"Dumbledore, it's got to be Pettigrew," I yelled. "Where is he? I can tell whether or not he's had any interaction with the Dark Lord!"

"Peter?" Dumbledore questioned, looking shocked. "Peter Pettigrew betrayed the Potters? How can you be sure, Severus? For all we know, it could have been anyone in the Order."

"Do you really believe that Lupin or Black could have done such a thing? They are practically family to Lily and Potter! And the Longbottoms... they're way past help, and almost _dead_ in St. Mungo's. They wouldn't betray them; they care for the Potters far too much to sell them over to Voldemort! And Moody, he's absolutely repulsed by the mere thought of Dark magic! There is absolutely no way he could have done this!" Dumbledore mulled over my reasoning.

"So Pettigrew it is," he said firmly, turning his back on me and walking towards his Phoenix, Fawkes, who was perched upon a rail floating a few feet above Dumbledore's desk. He pulled out a small piece of parchment from his robes and quickly scrawled something on it and tucked it in a little pouch on Fawkes leg, then sent him off.

"Go, Severus. You can find Peter in Hogsmeade, he'll be in The Three Broomsticks, I'm sure. Go _now_." He instructed and I gave one short nod, determined.

I willed my feet to pull me forward and out of his office, then out of the castle. When I was off the grounds of Hogwarts, I apparated straight to The Three Broomsticks to find the man that I longed with all my heart to murder painfully.

It was easy enough to find the little traitor. He sat, nervous as ever, at the bar, twitching- his huge, terrified eyes scanning the room every few moments. I crept towards him, catching him by surprise when I caught him by the neck.

"Pettigrew," I hissed venomously. "We need to... have a little _discussion_." A whimper escaped the pitiful, mousy man.

"S-Severus? What are you d-doing?" he yelped. I pulled him off of his stool and out of the restaurant with my hand around his neck—itching with the urge and need to strangle him—and my wand pressed against his side. Once out of the Three Broomsticks, I Stupefied the traitor, not bothering to catch him when he fell to the ground.

"_Mobilicorpus_," I muttered softly, and his body lifted itself off the ground and floated beside me as I made my way back to Hogwarts.

The walk back was pleasurable for his whimpers were terrified. Sick as it may be, his fear fed fire to my flame. He would _pay_ greatly for what he was to cost me in the future, and if I had my way, his head would be stuffed on my wall.

When we arrived back at the castle, and back in Dumbledore's office, I lifted the floating spell and he dropped to the ground making an enjoyable thud when he hit the stones.

"Severus, I know he's a dog, but careful please. He must have his bones intact for the time being." Dumbledore said, turning around at the noise.

I gave one curt nod and nudged Pettigrew with my foot so that he would flip over onto his back. His eyes were still as wide as galleons—if not wider—and his lip still trembled worriedly.

"What do we do now, Albus?" Dumbledore stared down at the traitorous rat laying at my feet.

"Firstly, we have to make sure that the Potter's are removed safely from that house," he replied. "Then we will see what we do with Mr. Pettigrew." Pettigrew whimpered feebly at that.

"If we take them from the house now, Voldemort will know that something is wrong," I muttered. "He has to stay under the impression that they are clueless to his attack."

"What are you saying, Severus?" Dumbledore asked, shocked. "Are you saying that we leave them up for attack?" I shifted away from the Headmaster.

"Well, no," I said, frowning. "We have to put up more wards, and tell them, obviously, but we have to leave them there until the very last moment; then we'll sweep in and take Voldemort by surprise."

"Surprising Tom is going to be much harder than you are making it seem, Severus," Dumbledore responded, his wise, old face looking gaunt and tired. "Though he is a murderous Dark Lord, he is a brilliant wizard, nonetheless."

"But we have to try." Dumbledore stared at me, his clear cerulean eyes twinkling in that strange way of his.

"Yes. I believe we must," he replied, before pointing his wand at Pettigrew. "But now, let me take care of this... issue." Pettigrew shrieked through closed lips as a bright light engulfed him.

He surely would be unable to wake from this sleep, or at least not until Azkaban.

**Okay, so hope you enjoyed that even the slightest...**

**REVIEW PLEASE!**

**Happy writings**

**Caroline (and Vanessa!)**


End file.
